How do I play a sound or music file in Windows?

Tip: This document contains information and help for users who want to know how to play a sound, music, or other audio file. See the sound card help and troubleshooting section if your sound is not working.

To play a sound, music, or other audio file in Windows requires that you use a media player program that is capable of playing that audio file. Below is a listing of different audio formats and media players that are capable of playing them.

You can also double-click the file or insert the CD with the audio files to start playing the file immediately. However, if the audio file has been associated with a different program it may not open in Windows Media player.

Playing .AIFF, .AMR, .AU, .GSM, .MIDI, .WAV audio files

Apple QuickTime (shown in the image to the right) is the Apple Mac OS default media player and also a popular media player for Microsoft Windows users to play .MOV files. Apple QuickTime is the recommended media player for .DV and .MOV files, however, is also capable of playing .AVI and .FLC files.

To open Apple QuickTime in Microsoft Windows follow the steps below.

Click Start

Go to Programs, QuickTime, and click QuickTime Player. If QuickTime is not found it is not installed on your computer. See the QuickTime definition for a link to where to download and install this program.

Once QuickTime is running you can open the audio file through by clicking File, then Open, then browsing to the location of the file. You can also drag the audio file and drop it on the QuickTime window.

Playing .ASF, .CDA, .RA, .WAV, .WMA

RealPlayer is capable of playing the audio formats mentioned above as well as other audio formats. This program does not come pre-installed with all versions of Microsoft Windows so if you're attempting to play these files you need to download this
program. The download link can be found through RealPlayers site.

Once RealPlayer has been installed on your computer it can be opened through the Program Files under the Start menu. To play a file an audio file either click File and select open and browse to the location of the file or drag the file to the RealPlayer window.

You can also double-click the file to start playing the file immediately. However, if the audio file has been associated with a different program it may not open in Windows Media player.

Other recommended Media Players

VLC media Player

VLC media player is an extremely powerful, open-source, and free software program capable of playing AAC, AC3, DTS, MP3, WMA, Vorbis, and many more. The program is available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, BeOS, and many more platforms.

If you're having trouble viewing an audio file or just want a different media player you can download this program at: http://www.videolan.org/vlc

Winamp

Another excellent media player in Winamp, which is also capable of playing several of the audio files mentioned above. This program can be found at: http://www.winamp.com